The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-09-17
coNouRRrNo FAILURE.
ExcAAnEN

extraordinary men their tailums, a, stepping stones to higher things, NJ Thiers began his career m military school, founded by tho first Napoleon Ho therc stimulated himself with th, ida that every French soldier carried marshafs hNton in his knapsack, and that every road out of Paris leSi to Il European capital. When tho cmpiiN came down with crash, 1t put m end to the military aspirations ot tn, youthful Thiers. Disappointed but not east down. he catered the law school of Ak, whep he soon dis- closed his ambition anal his conscious. ness of superiority,
 Parties ran high in the law school, and Thiers hccame a leadcr on the nl. tra liberal side. Once when the prac- ticability of liberal politics was dis. putel he exclaimed "Wcll, we'll, wait till am n minister .s
 Though hIs personal qualities ss,- curst him admission to tho most aris- tooratie salons el Aix, his democratic opinions provoked many royalists to say, "lie writes we'll, but his thoughts are evil"
 Talleyrand once said ia him "lt you wish to rise, make enemies. " Thiers had acted on the advice, years before il was given, with such success. that the royallst> of Ak tried to de prive him of the fairly worn honors of his pen, He competed for the an. nual prize given by the Academy oi Atx and his essay would have won the prize iad its authorship been kept SC crct. But, being found out. tho ma iority ot the committee of award, be- ing royalists, were unwilling to allow democrat Ia triumph. Afraid to stultity themselves, they postponed the award for a year, during which the competition was to remain open
 Thiers, instead of moping over the injustice, was only The more deter. mined to win the prize. One day an essay arrived from Paris The cont mittee approved of it. and the royal ists loudly praised iI, socing thcrein the defeat of the young liberal. The scaled paper containing tho name of the essaNist was opened. The Paris ian was Thiors, ho had sent his essay |" Il irieni whe iiai simply copied it and forwarded II to thc state commit. tee,
 Children are impatient to pluck fruit before it has ripened. A similar lmpaticnce prompts young men, il ambitious and brilliant. to grasp pc. litical responsibilities which they arc not ready to i-,nr
 The revolution ot iS30, which Thicrs ns n journalist had stimulated, made him secretary general of finance, under Baron Louis, an aged man. who subsequently, resigned and recom- mended his subordinate for the posi- ton of minister of finance. K ing Louis Philippe scnt for him, and the young uhu of thirty three came into the royal presence.
 Are you ambit ous, Monsieur ThlcrsY" asked the king
 He was ambitious, but he was nI.o cautious. Knowing that he had neither position nor experience enough for the post, he refused the portfolio in terms which impressed the king more iavoably than hi- acceptance of it would have done.
 His iirsi speech in the chamber uf deputies wns n tniIurc.
 "i have been beaten" he said, "but not cast down. am making my first essay in arms, In the tribune, as un- II Il II tory"
 He tried again and succcedod ln his first speech he had, following the traditions of thc tribune, attempted the classical and formal style of orn- tory. His diminutiyc figure and weak voice, il piping treble, un1ttod him for that style He adopted new method oi addressing the chambers. He talked instead of declaiming spoke with the maturalnc.s of one con versing told anecdotes, used collo- quialisns and addressed the deputies with frank familiarity.
 The speech made fl sensation, and from that day M. Thiers was listened io whenever he gave them one of bis light. lively, brilliant talks, illus trated by scraps Of history and biis of anccdotc. Men admired the clnrness of his cxpositIons, and allowed them selves to bc foaicd, where the limpid stream might carry them.
 Life seems hardly worth inc living to-day to many tired, unhappy, dIa-